Tosoh Corporation announced today that Tosoh Group company Tosoh SMD, Inc., will implement a major expansion at its Grove City, Ohio, operations to develop, produce, and support physical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering targets for the new 450mm wafer semiconductor market. The expansion is the biggest investment in Tosoh SMD’s history and is meant to position the company for the next generation products and technologies. It will include facilities, novel equipment and tools for manufacturing, and a sputter deposition tool for R&D and evaluation purposes. Groundbreaking is scheduled for October 2013 and the first stage is slated to be ready by December 2014.

According to Philip Frausto, Tosoh SMD’s director of global marketing and sales, “Through this new investment, we ensure that Tosoh will have sufficient capacity to deliver production-ready 450mm targets to customers and OEMs and confirm our commitment to develop new PVD sputtering target materials.”

Martin Blazic, Tosoh SMD’s president and COO, states, “Tosoh SMD, Inc., is a recognized leader with a 37-year history of innovation delivering PVD sputtering target solutions for Semiconductor OEMs and customers. This investment is a confirmation of our responsibility towards our global customers.  We shall continue to support our customers through the development of innovative materials and sputtering targets for the new 450mm market.”